Yewlands Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and well cared for at this school. Pupils are confident they can share any worries with trusted adults in school.

Pupils are certain that they will be listened to and supported due to strong relationships with staff.

Over time, pupils have not achieved as well as they should. Since the previous inspection, the school has made significant improvements to the curriculum to address this.

The school's work has resulted in improvements to outcomes over time. However, there is more to be done in this area.

Pupils benefit from the school's effective work to promote their personal development.

Many pupils attend clubs such as those ...in sports or gaming. During the inspection, Year 7 pupils attended the school's residential trip to a local scout camp. Other pupils participate in visits and enrichment, including the school ski visit and visits to Rother Valley.

This reflects the school's commitment to broaden pupils' horizons. The school's effective careers programme helps pupils to progress successfully to appropriate next steps in their education.

Many pupils routinely meet the school's high expectations for behaviour.

However, a minority continue to challenge the school and its expectations.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Those responsible for leadership at Yewlands Academy know their school well. The school has been on a considerable journey of change over the last few years, leading to an improved experience for pupils in all aspects of school life.

The school, working with the trust, has designed an ambitious curriculum that clearly sets out what pupils should learn. It has thought carefully about the order pupils need to develop their knowledge. Staff are beginning to identify key gaps in pupils' knowledge evident in formative assessments.

However, this is less secure where teaching does not delve deeply enough to question how well pupils have understood the content being taught.

Staff benefit from a comprehensive and targeted programme of professional development. Pupils learn most effectively when teachers consistently apply this training.

For example, in English, teachers use their strong knowledge of the subject to ask questions that extend pupils' understanding. New knowledge is modelled clearly and supports pupils to make progress through the curriculum. However, these experiences are not consistent across all subjects.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified effectively by the school. The school works with external agencies, such as educational psychologists, to access additional help for these pupils. Staff use the information they receive to successfully support pupils with SEND, particularly pupils with social emotional and mental health needs.

The school identifies and supports those pupils who are in the early stages of learning to read. The school gives these pupils additional help, which enables some to catch up quickly. Leaders are working with primary colleagues in the trust to make further improvements to the support for these pupils.

The school provides pupils with opportunities to read widely. This includes reading texts that are specific to the subjects they are studying.

Pupils' attendance is increasing.

Leaders have raised the expectation and importance of regular attendance. Tutors support this through discussions with pupils and families. However, pupils who do not attend regularly achieve less well than their peers.

Attendance continues to be an important area of focus for the school.

The school has implemented processes to support pupils in managing their behaviour. Despite this, lessons are disrupted occasionally by poor behaviour.

Added to this, a few pupils do not behave as they should during social times. This is because some staff do not consistently apply the behaviour policy in the way that it was designed.

The school's personal development programme is ambitious.

It has equal importance with other subjects. Leaders use it well to respond to local issues and teach pupils to keep safe. For example, pupils talk confidently about staying safe online.

Pupils also learn about relevant and up-to-date issues in society. This helps them to be well prepared for life beyond school.The trust works in close collaboration with the school.

Trustees and the local governing body have established suitable systems to check on the work of the school. They have identified appropriate improvement priorities that the school is in the process of addressing, including the consistent delivery of the curriculum.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some staff do not consistently enforce the clear expectations for pupils' behaviour that the school's policy requires. When this happens, some pupils do not behave as well as they should. The school should ensure that its behaviour policy is implemented consistently and effectively so it has the intended positive impact.

• The school has not ensured that gaps and misconceptions in pupils' learning are identified and addressed consistently in some subjects. This means some pupils' knowledge does not build in a logical way over time in these subjects. The school should ensure that pupils' prior knowledge is secure before moving on to new learning.

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